Happy Birthday: The Boss is 70

Image result for bruce springsteen
Today, Bruce Springsteen, known as the Boss, was born seventy years ago. Born Bruce Joseph Frederick Springsteen in Long Branch, NJ, he has grown to be one of music's most successful artists both as a solo artist and as a member of the E Street Band.

In 1972, Springsteen got himself a deal with Columbia Records thanks to Clive Davis and got together with a few members: Garry Tallent on bass, the late great Clerance Clemmons on saxophon, keyboardists Danny Federici and David Sancious, and drummer Viny Lopez. The E Street Band has made a name for themselves not only as Springsteen's backing band, but also working with other prolific musicians. Most recently, in 2011, Clarence Clemmons has worked with Lady Gaga.

His first album, 1973's Greetings from Ashbury Park, New Jersey, sold rather slowly due to his folky and poetic melodies and lyrics. His slow rise has been compared to Bob Dylan, but was quickly well received. The E Sreet Band and Bruce Springsteen made worldwide success with their 1975 album Born to Run.

Other notable hits by Springsteen include Hungry Heart, Tenth Avenue Freezeout, Rosalita, Glory Days, and his signature, much-mentioned song in this blog, Born in the USA.

Springsteen career took a turn down in the late 1980s/early 90s, and saw the release of several greatest hits packages, but the E Street Band still remained big. They were inducted in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legacy of Davorin Popovich and Indexi

Image
In the former Yugoslavia, there were many successful artists, but one of the most important, and even overlooked sometimes, was a popular band called Indexi (The Indeces). They had an awesome lead singer. The late, great Davorin Popovich today is remembered for has raspy, tenor voice - to me, a bit comparable to Burton Cummings of The Guess Who fame. Over the years, he has earned various nicknames such as Dacho and Pimpek. They were the seeds for other bands. Formed back in 1962, Indexi set the stage for what is now known as the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock - a movement that would live for the next three decades (a la before the Yugoslav wars). Their name, by the way, is the plural of Index - a student's gradebook. Each student was expected to record and maintain their own grades. The core  members, aside from Popovich, consisted of late guitarist Slobodan Bodo Kavachevich and bass player Fadil Redzich (pronounce "dz," like "s" in "risotto)."
Read more

Jimmy Stokley and Exile

Image
  Although of minor significance, today is 35 years since we lostJimmy Stokley of Exile. A little known Kentucky band, Exile is perhaps only known for their 1978 hit Kiss You All Over . In the 80s, the band shifted to more of a country sound, and has not made any noteable chart hits since. A Jagger-like frontman Born James Carr Stokley on October 18, 1943, Stokley joined The Fascinations in 1963, who then became Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, featuring future Exile guiarist J.P. Penington  Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, were, towards the end of the decade, shortened to simply The Exiles, before the plural form was dropped in the mid 70s, becoming Exile. Interestingly, Stokley's attire and attitude on stage led to many calling him the American Mick Jagger. One hitters In 1978, Exile issued their LP Mixed Emotions  through Warner Bros. records. The record features the disco-ey hit Kiss You All Over , written by producer Mike Chapman (also notorious for working with Blondie). Despite co
Read more

Bijelo Dugme - Former Yugoslavia's Greatest Rock Band

Image
In today's blog post, we will examine perhaps one of the GREATEST rock bands of the former Yugoslavia. Bijelo Dugme (The White Button), which by sound is largely influenced by the heavy metal likes of Deep Purple, Zeppelin, and Sabbath; however in culture, they were most simillar to the Beatles. In fact, there was a Dugmeania in the former Yugoslavia in the late 70s akin to Beatlemania in the US in the 60s. The brainchild of the band was a young man named Goran Bregovich, aka Brega. He was born on 3, 22, 1950 in Sarajevo to a Serbian mother and a Croatian father. At some point, his mother enrolled him into a music school with violin as a chosen instrument, but around twelve he was expelled showing lack of interest. Consequently, his mother bought him a guitar in his early teenage years. Brega's first bands were high school bands. He played bass guitar for Beshtije (The Beasts). At a  br in 1969, Bregovich met Zeljko Bebek who was part of a band called Kodeksi (The Codexes)
Read more